Some of the Best Performances in CBM history

Some of the Best Performances in CBM history

This was inspired by havoc9987's articles about some performances in CBMs. This features many performances that most can agree with, and then some...

Editorial Opinion
By PaulRom - Mar 28, 2011 02:03 PM EST
Filed Under: Other

(In no particular order)


Hugh Jackman as Wolverine



I can see why many dislike the X-Men franchise, but it's hard to deny Jackman's incredibleness in the role. IMO, he IS Logan...I find it hard to imagine anyone else doing a half-decent job.


Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man



Few could've predicted how amazing RDJ would do in the role. He looks like Tony Stark, acts like him, he just embodies the character to pure perfection.


Alfred Molina as Doc Ock



He may not look identical to the comic book version, but Molina plays the villain so well, I find it hard to imagine someone coming even close to the dude's perfect take.


Heath Ledger as the Joker



I'm pretty sure 93% or more of fan boys would agree with this. To me, Ledger just disappears into the character without being comparable to his previous roles. IMO, that's proof that the dude had serious acting chops.


Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man



He may not have done much of the wise cracking side of Spidey, and he was kinda old for the role (although he looks younger than mid-30s), but Maguire played the character's triumphs and tragedies to perfection. Andrew Garfield has a lot to live up to.


Christian Bale as Batman



This would be tough to determine, but Bale probably makes a better Bruce than Batman. While I do like his voice as the Dark Knight (except when it's so screechy it's impossible to understand what he's saying...."your peanut butter jelly forever"), he especially left a mark as Bruce Wayne.


JK Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson



This is easily one of the best comic-to-movie translations I have ever seen. Looking forward to seeing him contribute to the Ultimate Spider-Man series.


Thomas Haden Church as Sandman



He was right on the money when it comes to comic translation. He was so perfect that it'd be hard to imagine anyone else in the role.


Patrick Stewart as Professor X



Along with Jackman/Wolverine, Stewart's take on Professor X is easily one of the X-franchise's highlights.


Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow



Emily Blunt would've made a fine Black Widow IMO, but I'm still glad ScarJo got the part. She embodies the character brilliantly, inside and out.


Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face



He did kinda whine a lot (probably too much emotion on his part), but Eckhart was much, much stronger in the role than the stain that Tommy Lee Jones left on the character. Eckhart proved that the character could really rock on the big screen...sad to see his apparently not being in TDKR.


Christopher Reeve as Superman



I loved how Reeve brought so much humanity and emotion to the character. Seriously looking forward to seeing Henvry Cavill in the role next year.


Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin



His costume may have been to comparable to Power Rangers, but otherwise his Gobby rocks.


Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury



I'm kinda surprised that the mainstream and Ultimate versions of Fury are so different. I would've preferred if Marvel went with the mainstream (or even a mix of both...see Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes), but Jackson delivers one of his strongest performances to date with the character.


Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon



I would probably list every actor from The Dark Knight (sans Maggie Gylenhaal) on here, but this will be my last for the sake of diversity. Oldman embodies the Commissioner brilliantly, nuff said.

James Franco as Harry Osborn



He was epic. Enough said.


Danny DeVito as the Penguin



Would've preferred if Burton's take on the character was a little less creepy, but otherwise DeVito was awesome as Penguin.



Well, that's my list. Next in the series will be of some of the worst performances in CBM history.
Feel free to sound out your choices below in the comments.




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GrandWrex
GrandWrex - 3/28/2011, 3:16 PM
i thought scarjo played a terrible black widow, she may have looked like the black widow but once she opened her mouth she was not the black widow.

and i totally agree Robert Downey jr. is Iron Man
freddblob
freddblob - 3/28/2011, 3:29 PM
Agreed with you! ... Except three.
1- Tobey mcguire : dont get me wrong he was really good as peter but i think he could have performed better as spiderman, the wise cracking side is really important.
2 - Scarlet Johanson : As @GranWrex said it, she loos the part but when she opnes her mouth is like SHUT UP [female dog]! ... She is fisically attractive but her attitude isnt that is what makes her a bad black widow.
3- I think you missed Sr. Ian Mckellen as magneto, Maybe he was too old but he rocked.
Exiles
Exiles - 3/28/2011, 3:45 PM
I agree with most of them except for mcguire, he was OK as peter but spiderman was not spiderman in raimi's movie the wise cracking side was non existent.
Exiles
Exiles - 3/28/2011, 3:48 PM
and scarjo wasnt that great but hopefully under wheadons direction she can do better. And RDJ is to iron man what chris reeve was to superman. He IS Iron Man.
marvelguy
marvelguy - 3/28/2011, 4:38 PM
I think Johansen as the Widow and Franco as Harry O is off base. Their acting wasn't the issue, the characters were written poorly. Wakeboard Goblin was awful.
jaysin420
jaysin420 - 3/28/2011, 5:36 PM
Great list, I don't think Widow, Harry or Two-Face belong but that's just me.

And JK Simmons is the best ever, it's like the man literally stepped out of a comic book.
superbatspiderman
superbatspiderman - 3/28/2011, 6:54 PM
I agree with most of these except Black Widow and Nick Fury I like them but they aren't anything special. Jk Simmons and Ledger are the best ones. You forgot a couple tho like Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach and Hugo Weaving as V. Maybe Michey Roarke as Whiplash.
luckylu
luckylu - 3/28/2011, 7:26 PM
scarlet johansons performance in im2 was down right horrible. it was almost embarrassing.
FutureCBMHero
FutureCBMHero - 3/28/2011, 11:29 PM
I'd like to know what exactly people want out of an actor's portrayal of Batman. I mean I can understand the voice irritating people, but what do you actually want?

-Christian Bale physically kicks ass and is able to do everything that we want to physically see Batman do.

-If he does well as Bruce Wayne, then his motivations transfer over well to Batman, so he's got that down pat.

- He's limited in ways to what the story and what the writers give him. If they don't allow him to do his"detective" side, then he can't show it. So you can't blame him there.

- The voice! Oh the voice, the voice, the voice. Most complainers A) Don't want to mention that it is NECESSARY for Bruce Wayne to conceal his identity, B) Don't realize the great dramatic choice it is to show how Bruce Wayne loses himself in Batman (A character within a character...within a character?), C) Forget or refuse to acknowledge that the voice has been DIGITALLY ALTERATED. I think it's fair to say his actual voice was closer to his BB voice, Nolan boosted it for whatever reason he wanted.

LP4
LP4 - 3/29/2011, 1:52 AM
@PaulRom- I completely agree with your list! I especially agreed with your choice of DeVito's Penguin. People didn't like it because it was creepy but that's actually WHY i preferred it over the classic. He was creepy, disgusting and just made the film so interesting!

Every other actor you have listed on there is great too but I think by far- DeVito's Penguin is one of my TOP CBM performances. Who couldn't love a horrifying villain that tried to kidnap children in their sleep and dump them in hazardous waste? That is pure evil right there to the core. He was much more sinister and scary than Nicholson's Joker...and a HUGE step up from it.

George88
George88 - 3/29/2011, 7:56 AM
Nice but disagree with 3:
ScarJo
Maguire
Franco

You Should add:
Keaton-Batman
Haley-Rorschach
Perlman-Hellboy
marvel72
marvel72 - 3/29/2011, 7:56 AM
agree with most apart from

bale-terrible batman,micheal keaton is better.

ledger-was good but not oscar worthy

NotThatGuy
NotThatGuy - 3/29/2011, 8:08 AM
I'll agree with 50%
manymade1
manymade1 - 3/29/2011, 8:12 AM
Of all people that need to be on here the one that needs to be on here the most is, Mickey Rourke. I didn't know he was American till I heard it on here. Even then I couldn't believe it.
SeaSerpentine
SeaSerpentine - 3/29/2011, 9:43 AM
Is it me or does Doc Ock look like John Lennon in that picture?

Anyway, I thought Devito did a terrible job as Penguin, but aside from acting, it was still a poor portrayal of the character.
yankeemanf
yankeemanf - 3/29/2011, 12:05 PM
i agrre with everyone of these except for james franco and tobey maguire and samuel l jackson
CrossOver
CrossOver - 3/29/2011, 5:56 PM
Woahhh, Ledger was definately Oscar-worthy.
Dont agree with Franco, ScarJo, Samuel L Jackson, McGuire.

You left out Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach, Perlman as Hellboy, Ian Mcklellen as Magneto, they portray those characters on point.
Oh and Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson also.

Because both Ryan Reynolds and Wade Wilson rule. (Not Barackapool)
LP4
LP4 - 3/29/2011, 6:09 PM
Y'know I actually thought James Franco did a pretty decent job with his role. I actually felt sympathy for him when his character died in Spider-Man 3.

Ah well.
FutureCBMHero
FutureCBMHero - 3/29/2011, 9:50 PM
How is Keaton better than Bale? I love the first two Batman movies, but I want to hear a rational argument for how Keaton was better.

-He didn't do anything more detective-like than Bale.
-He wasn't more or even as physically imposing.
-He wasn't even all that complicated as a person (more mysterious, but not really all that compelling)
-His Wayne is a guy that you couldn't pick out of the crowd (designed so by the script)

What exactly did he do better?


yankeemanf
yankeemanf - 4/1/2011, 1:47 PM
@futurecbmhero i believe bale blows keaton's portrayal out of the water. bale's performance imo deserved an oscar if ledger deserved one. i feel that keaton's performance didnt portray batman or bruce wayne. bale shows bruce's playboy side perfectly and shows batman's intelligence and detective skills and heroics perfectly
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